Below is a letter that Oshkosh citizen Steve Barney sent to each candidate for Oshkosh Common Council.
In the letter, he asks the candidates to join a boycott of Kentucky Fried Chicken until the company adopts animal welfare requirements put in place by other fast food establishments like McDonald's and Burger King. The chicken served at KFC comes from the
most horrific factory farm slaughterhouses imaginable, shameful conditions that are being opposed by a growing coalition of activists from different political persuasions including conservatives. For example, President Bush's former speechwriter Matthew Scully supports the KFC Boycott. I interviewed him on Radio Commentary. Take a listen
here.
Mr. Barney will be holding a press demo outside the KFC on 1805 Jackson St. in Oshkosh on Martin Luther King Day (January 16th) from noon - 1 p.m. He aims to "make a strong statement to the press on the application of the ethical principle on which human equality rests, or The Golden Rule, to farmed animals - including chickens."
I think this is a perfectly legitimate issue to put before candidates for public office. If a candidate chooses to remain apathetic about an issue like this because it is "only chickens" that are suffering, or "we can't tell KFC how to run their business," such statements say much about the character of the candidate. Here is the letter:
Dear Oshkosh City Council Candidates:
As a prominent community leader, please join the ethical community of Oshkosh in boycotting the KFC (aka Kentucky Fried Chicken) restaurant chain until they adopt some animal welfare requirements in order to stop the worst abuses of chickens, and proclaim your respect for chickens. By doing so, you will be setting a good example for the community. You will be showing us that ethics is important, that we ought to have mercy and respect for even the most humble and powerless beings under our dominion, and that ethical regard and respect are values quite worthy of our attention as well as topics for discussion by those interested in improving the quality of life in this and other communities.
In the "McLibel Trial" of 1997, a court of law found McDonald’s to be "culpably responsible for cruel practices in the rearing and slaughter of some of the animals which are used to produce their food," including chickens, because, as the world’s largest restaurant, it had failed to yield its financial clout to stop some of the worst abuses of chickens and other farmed animals. Since then, McDonald’s, followed by some of the next largest restaurants in the world (including Burger King, and Wendy’s), have adopted requirements for significant improvements in animal welfare.
On the other hand, even though the KFC Corporation, as the world’s largest chicken restaurant (consuming over 850,000,000 chickens/year), is responsible for cruelty to animals in precisely the same way that McDonald’s was responsible, KFC has refused to accept its responsibility to use its financial clout to stop the worst cruelties of the industry by adopting animal welfare requirements.
As a frequent picketer outside the KFC restaurant in Oshkosh since April 11, 2005, when PETA's negotiations with KFC fell thru, I am doing what I can to spread the word. For more information, please read the following letters by myself and others, which were published in local papers last Fall, and visit PETA’s KFC campaign website:
12 comments:
Tony, given the fact that Mr. Barney has actually given the city council members some information and asked them to participate in the boycott, it may be a question to ask the council candidates, as you've suggested. However, it is not fair to ask candidates not currently on the council to take a position on material they have not seen.
Therefore, and since this questions may well come up during our interviews with candidates, I would ask that Mr. Barney get the same material to candidates not on the council that he delivered to those who are incumbents. Otherwise they are being asked to give an answer on something they may not be completely informed about.
He could easily get all the candidates' addresses from the city clerk and mail them the material.
Hi Cheryl,
I think that Mr. Barney has provided information to all of the candidates, including those not already on the council. I'll check on that or maybe Barney himself can post on the blog. --Tony
That would be wonderful. Thank you!
While I agree that animals raised for food should be treated well and raised in healthy environments, I do not agree that a chicken protest is appropriate on Martin Luther King Jr day. This seems to be a way for Mr. Barney to grandstand on a day when other celebrations are taking place. Dr. Kings work was for HUMAN RIGHTS and equality for people from all cultures. In my opinion, this minimizes the great work of Dr. King. It also seems like a waste to invite council candidates who cannot do anything about it. Come to think of it, what exactly can the current city council do about chickens raised elsewhere. Isn't that a legislative issue?
I really dont know how to respond to the anonomous commenter, but *I* think that this is wunderbar!!!
good luck steve!
Tony and Cheryl,
I did get a letter from Steve. I can only assume that every candidate got one. I will not be in attendance. I do not eat at KFC as our family cannot afford $30 to $40 for one meal.
While I believe Steve is entitled to his opinion, I think that this protest is inappropriate being held on Martin Luther King Day.
To Anonymous:
If we ignore your post's assignment of motive to Mr. Barney ("grandstanding"), which is probably not necessary to make your case, your post includes two points that Barney and others who choose to protest with him should reflect on seriously:
1. Does a "chicken protest" minimize the great work of Dr. King?
2. Can the Oshkosh Common Council do anything about this issue?
In response to #1, I believe that if Dr. King were alive today he would say that his famous statement "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" should be expanded to factory farming. By eating factory farm produced food we are perpetuating the terrible injustice that occurs there every day. Additionally, King spent much time criticizing and trying to raise the consciousness of "good" people who allow evil actions to continue due to their indifference. The majority of people who eat at KFC are good people--I think Barney is trying to help them see how they are being irresponsible by perpetuating the unnecessary suffering of other living beings. So the protest is really more about the chicken eaters than it is about the chickens.
Second, I think sometimes it's important to find out our elected officials' views on issues even when we don't necessarily want them to do anything legislatively. For example, in 1905 the Oshkosh Common Council could not arbitrarily grant women the right to vote without action by the state government, but I'd like to think that I would have wanted to know how each candidate felt about women suffrage and I'd like to think I would have weighed the candidate's views on that topic against other views he took come election time.
This was essentially the argument last year of people who were critical of Mr. Esslinger's views on affirmative action--even though the council can do nothing about that issue, his critics argued that voters should still vote against him because of it. Like most voters, I tried to weigh his and other candidates' views on that topic against everything else I knew about him/them.
Should a voter not vote for someone who is apathetic about factory farm suffering? Maybe yes, maybe no, but it is something worth weighing against their other stated views. That's my opinion anyway.
What a waste of time. This is truly unbelievable. I don't mean to condem your cause, but come on. If you want to judge the charachter of a potential candidate, why not just give them a booklet of questions. Do they eat meat? What religion are they? Do they support or oppose abortion? Who did they vote for in the last 3 presidential elections? Do they support or oppose capital punishment? Do they support or oppose the war in Iraq? Are you a member of PETA? How much money do you make? You could go on, and on, and on...all of these questions could possibly influence some voters.
Well the main thing I see wrong now with eating chicken is the bird flu. We have already had problems with mad cow, but with KFC slaughtering 8 billion chickens a year, we could have an epidemic on our hands.
The thing is tho, that in most slaughterhouses they already reccomend workers to wear masks in case of respiratory disease from ammonia fumes left from feces.
If they post warnings to humans, then what about the animals?
And we eat that stuff??????
Thanks for posting that letter, Tony. I hereby confirm that it was mailed to ALL of the Oshkosh City Council candidates, and hand delivered to ALL of the Oshkosh City Council members, the Deputy Mayor, and Mayor Castle, earlier this week.
--Steve Barney
I think I'm missing something here. What is this going to prove about a candidate? I believe each person is entitled to their opinion but what is a council member going to do to help his cause. Does anyone know how cows, steer and other animals are killed? How do we know this is humane? If we want to talk about humanitarian efforts lets look at this city’s homeless man who died under the bridge this winter. Is this not an even more important issue for Oshkosh?
Anonymous wrote:
I think I'm missing something here. What is this going to prove about a candidate? I believe each person is entitled to their opinion but what is a council member going to do to help his cause.
To which I reply:
For one thing, many voters say that a candidate's moral character is a top concern for them, and it is standard practice for candidates to let us know about their involvement in volunteer community activities, charitable contributions, and even their sex lives, as well as their personal religious beliefs. Our food choices, too, reflect on our moral character, so why shouldn't they let us know about their food choices, and why shouldn’t a politician's chances be affected by the ethics of what he or she eats?
As a leading philosopher recently wrote, "It is important, for the sake of the environment, animals, and future generations, that we see our food choices as raising serious ethical issues and learn the implications of what we eat" ("Eating Ethically" [http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/200506--.htm]).
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